Then the Bhagavat, having taught the treatise on kingship within that great assembly, said, “You and all others, listen well, for I will teach you the past causes and conditions for the true practice of the Dharma.”

He then recited these verses:

“When in the past I was a cakravartin king, I gave away the great earth with its oceans. I offered all the four continents Filled with jewels to the tathāgatas.

“Throughout countless eons, all of them, Because I sought the pure, true Dharma body, My cherished wealth and even my own body and life I gave away, with a mind that was without miserliness.

“Moreover, an inconceivable number of eons ago, There was Ratnaśikhin, who had true wisdom. After that tathāgata had passed into nirvāṇa, A king named Susaṃbhava appeared in the world.

“He became a cakravartin and subjugated the four continents. He became the protector of all as far as the oceans. The name of his city was Sublime Sounds. At the time when the cakravartin king was dwelling there,

“He heard the merit and wisdom of the Buddha in a dream, And he saw the dharmabhāṇaka named Built of Jewels, As beautiful as the disk of the sun, seated on a throne And teaching The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.

“When the king awoke from his dream, He felt great joy that spread through his entire body, And at dawn he came out of the royal palace And went into the presence of the bhikṣu saṅgha.

“He reverently made offerings to that assembly of āryas, And he asked this question of that great assembly: ‘Is there a dharmabhāṇaka by the name of Built of Jewels Who has a perfection of qualities and who guides beings?’

“At that time, the great dharmabhāṇaka Built of Jewels Was staying in perfect solitude in a dwelling, Maintaining mindfulness and teaching this sūtra, Honest and sincere, in physical and mental bliss.

“At that time, a bhikṣu led the way and the king Came to the dwelling of Built of Jewels. He saw him inside the dwelling, sitting upright, His body permeated by light and perfect signs.

“The bhikṣu told the king, ‘This is Built of Jewels, And the supreme king of the sūtras is this: The extremely wonderful Sublime Golden Light, Which has the profound range of activity of the buddhas.’

“The king bowed down to Built of Jewels. With palms together in reverence, he said, ‘I request you, whose face is as beautiful as the full moon, To teach this Dharma of The Sublime Golden Light.’

“When Built of Jewels had heard the words of the king, He gave the teaching of Sublime Golden Light. All the devas and humans throughout the entirety Of the world realms of the trichiliocosm were overjoyed.

“The king adorned with supreme wonderful jewels A place that was a vast and clean location, And he sprinkled it with excellent scented water And scattered there a display of a variety of flowers.

“In that perfect location he placed a high throne And beautified it with flags and a canopy. And he perfumed everywhere with Various powders, ointments, and incenses.

“Devas, nāgas, asuras, kinnaras, Mahoragas, and yakṣas rained down Divine coral tree flowers, and then they all Came to the supreme throne and made offerings to it.

“Another ten thousand million devas, Wishing to hear the Dharma, all gathered there, And when the dharmabhāṇaka first rose from his seat, They all made offerings to him of divine flowers.

“At that time, the dharmabhāṇaka Built of Jewels Thoroughly washed his body and put on clean robes, And then he came before the throne in that great assembly And single-mindedly, with palms together, bowed to it with reverence.

“The deva lords, the assembled devas, and the devīs Also all scattered coral tree flowers, And with countless hundreds of thousands of divine musical instruments, They emitted the sound of beautiful music while residing in the sky.

“At that time, the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu Built of Jewels Sat on the throne, cross-legged, And contemplated in his mind the trillion Lords of great love in the realms in the ten directions.

“Maintaining a loving mind equally toward All the beings there were who were in suffering, For the sake of the supplicant, King Susaṃbhava, He taught The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.

“When the king had heard such a Dharma, With palms together, single-mindedly he rejoiced. Hearing the wonderful Dharma, he shed tears and wept, And his body and mind were pervaded by great joy.

“At that time, the lord of the realm, King Susaṃbhava, Wishing to make an offering to this sūtra, Held in his hands a wish-fulfilling jewel, And for the sake of all beings, he made this prayer:

“ ‘May there fall a rain of strings of jewels That pervades the entirety of Jambudvīpa, And may everyone who is lacking in wealth and necessities All attain the happiness that they wish for.’

“Then there fell a rain of the seven jewels, Bringing satisfaction and contentment throughout the four continents So that no one lacked jewelry for their bodies, Or clothes, food, drink, or whatever they desired.

“At that time, the lord of the realm, King Susaṃbhava, Saw the rain of jewels fall onto the four continents, And he offered it all to the saṅgha of bhikṣus Who followed the teaching of the Buddha Ratnaśikhin.

“Know that I, the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, Was Susaṃbhava, that king in the past. In the past I have offered up many great earths And filled the four continents with jewels.

“That great Dharma master in the past, Built of Jewels, Who taught that wonderful Dharma to Susaṃbhava, Became the eastern buddha Akṣobhya Because of teaching that king of sūtras.

“I have attained this supreme vajra body because of The merit from having listened to this king of sūtras, With palms together, having single-mindedly rejoiced And having offered up the seven kinds of jewels.

“It is beautified by golden light and the signs of a hundred merits. It brings supreme joy to everyone who sees it. It is beloved by everyone, by all beings, And also by all the many millions of devas.

“Also, in the past, I became a cakravartin king For nine hundred and ninety million eons, And have been the king of smaller kingdoms. Moreover, for countless hundreds of thousands of eons

“I have also been Śakras, who were the lords of the devas, And I have been great Brahmā kings, And it would be difficult to know the full number of times That I made offering to the lords of great love in the ten directions.

“It would be difficult to know the extent of the accumulation of merit from My good action of having in the past listened to and rejoiced in this sūtra. It is through the power of that merit that I realized enlightenment And attained the sublime true wisdom of the Dharma body.”

Then that great assembly, having heard the words of that teaching, greatly marveled at it, and they all aspired to continuously promulgate and practice The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light.